Bestsellers, Crime & Mystery: December 2016

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (Mary Russell 01)Laurie R King
Sherlock Holmes – bored and suicidal, in retirement (post-canon) – meets an intelligent, Anglo-American girl on the Sussex Downs; after the beginning of the Great War. It is the beginning of a partnership which, now, spans 14 novels. Leanne adores LRK’s gorgeous, literate and lucid writing; and thinks she is one of the best of the many Holmesian pasticheurs going.Sherlockiana | PBK | $19.99

Death in the Dordogne (Bruno, Chief of Police 01)Martin Walker
Inspector Bruno is the best of Frenchmen: noble, loyal, and true. These are irresistible! First in the series.Mystery | PBK | $19.99

Under the Cold Bright LightsGarry Disher
The young detectives call Alan Auhl a re-tread, but that doesn’t faze him. He does things his own way – and gets results. He still lives with his ex-wife, off and on, in a big house full of random boarders and hard-luck stories. And he’s still a cop, even though he retired from Homicide, some years ago. He works cold cases, now. Auhl will stick with these cases, until justice is done. One way or another. Auhl is a brilliantly ambivalent character – recommended.Mystery/thriller | TP | $29.99

Murder for Christmas (Mordecai Tremaine 01)Francis Duncan
Amateur sleuth and former tobacconist, Mordecai Tremaine of London, travels to the West Country, for a Christmas party hosted by retired businessman Benedict Grame – at his new home, Sherbroome House. Nicholas Blaise, Grame’s confidential secretary, expressed unease in the invitation, so Tremaine looks carefully at the guests. A surly stranger, hovering outside the house, also captures Tremaine’s interest. Grame’s holiday tradition – dressing up as Father Christmas and leaving a present for each guest – takes a morbid turn; when someone in a Santa outfit is found dead, next to the Christmas tree… and the gifts, along with a valuable necklace, go missing. First published in the UK, in 1949.Classic mystery | TP | $29.95

An English MurderCyril Hare
The snow is thick, the phone line is down, and no one is getting in or out of Warbeck Hall. With friends and family gathered around the fire, all should be set for a perfect Christmas, but as the bells chime midnight, a mysterious murder takes place. Who can be responsible? And, perhaps, the real question is: can any of them survive long enough, to tell the tale? First published in 1951, this a Christmas Eve-set, Golden Age classic…Classic mystery | PBK | $19.99

The Dry (Aaron Falk 01)Jane Harper
‘Packed with sneaky moves and teasing possibilities that keep the reader guessing, The Dry is a breathless page turner.’ – Janet Maslin, The New York Times. This new Oz crime writer has been receiving awards and accolades, the world over! The sequel, Force of Nature, is now available (TP, $32.99).Mystery | PBK | $16.99

Somebody at the Door (British Library Crime Classics)Raymond Postgate
‘The death was an odd one, it was true; but there was after all no very clear reason to assume it was anything but natural.’ In the winter of 1942, England lies cold and dark in the wartime blackout. One bleak evening, Councillor Grayling steps off the 6:12 from Euston, carrying £120 in cash, and oblivious to the fate that awaits him, in the snow-covered suburbs. Inspector Holly draws up a list of Grayling’s fellow passengers: his distrusted employee Charles Evetts, the charming Hugh Rolandson, and an unknown refugee from Nazi Germany, among others. Inspector Holly will soon discover that each passenger harbours their own dark secrets, and that the councillor had more than one enemy among them. First published in 1943, Raymond Postgate’s wartime murder mystery combines thrilling detection with rich characters; and is a fascinating depiction of life on the home front.Classic mystery | TP | $27.95

Beautiful Blue Death Charles Lenox 01Charles Finch
Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane’s former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The grand house, where the girl worked, is full of suspects; and, though Prue had dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by the motive for the girl’s death. When another body turns up, during the London season’s most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealousy that killed Prudence Smith? Or was it something else entirely? And can Lenox find the answer, before the killer strikes again—this time, disturbingly close to home? The first novel in a wonderful series of mysteries.Historical mystery | PBK | $22.95

IQ (IQ 01)Joe Ide
East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, the elderly are being mugged, children go missing. But word has spread: if you’ve got a case the police can’t – or won’t – touch, super-smart Isaiah Quintabe will help you out. A multi-award-winning, debut novel… part Tarantino, part Sherlock Holmes.Mystery/suspense | TP | $24.99

Prussian Blue (Bernie Gunther 12)Philip Kerr
Superb new Bernie Gunther novel – picks up in France in the mid-fifties, where his previous outing: The Other Side of Silence leaves off. The plot thickens when echoes of a much earlier case from the mid-thirties comes back to haunt Bernie. With added Stasi…! Now in paperback.Noir | PBK | $19.99